American Robin

Description:

This nest was made a few weeks ago right outside our front door. It sort of popped up overnight, and within a day or so it held a handful of shiny, blue eggs. Of course, the nest received plenty of attention from neighbors, and whenever anyone's prying eyes got too close to her babies, their mother would begin chirping incessantly from our flowering cherry tree about 20 feet away. She was extremely aggressive in protecting her young. A few times we'd peer into the nest, only to be met by the penetrating gaze of the mother sitting atop her eggs just a few inches from our faces. As the babies hatched and grew, the mother was around less and less, unless there was a storm that threatened to harm her chicks. Finally, a few days ago, they spread their wings and flew off, the nest remaining in the same place for some other curious critter to explore.